SP - The Return
by Tanzani Coil - The Only
Summary: The war isn't doing any favours to anyone. Vampires loose, lives being lost, unrequited love... Ghastly just can't keep his mind off of the beautiful Tanith Low. But when an ambush on Ghastly results in unexpected help, it's as if he truly can't believe his eyes. Oneshot, Ghanith. Characters by Derek Landy.


.:The Return:.

Tanith looked at the grimy ceiling from her place on the bed, and sighed in discontent. She remembered it all, every little thing she did she _remembered_. What was worse, there wasn't a single moment that she had forgot. Whatever the remnant had left in her head, it won't get going away anytime soon, so she was left with the vivid memories of herself and her actions, never to be forgotten.

Every murder, every getaway, ever damn _conversation_ would stay in her head, and she would never be allowed to take a break from it all. The doctor had told her that all the sudden memories flooding into her mind were just the aftermath of her return, and they might return to the back of her mind over time. But then again, this had never even happened to _anyone_ before, so what did he know? It was just guesswork.

And while she was lying there, under the doctor's orders, her friends were away, fighting in a bloody battle that could change the ways of Irish Magical Society.

Of course, she had trained Valkyrie to the best of her ability before she left. And after her, she had been trained by, presumably, the best detective and sorcerer in Ireland. So in terms of staying alive, she was pretty sure Valkyrie would make it through the combat. Skulduggery would make sure of that.

But despite her best efforts to comfort herself, Tanith needed to be out on the field. She had to have the teams' back. Of course, in normal terms she would already be out there if it weren't for Skulduggery's strict orders to stay _here_. He knew how much she longed for the conflict, but with her surgery only so recent, it'd be dangerous to set out so soon. Skulduggery had forbid anyone from going near her, or talking to her. Even Valkyrie and Ghastly, much to their anger. Skulduggery knew that a visit from Tanith would get their minds off the job – he needed them to focus.

But damnit, Skulduggery underestimates her too much. Whilst the remnant left some negatives behind, the extra muscle and strength she had gained with the remnant she hadn't lost. She was improved, like before, but not evil anymore. She could help. She _should_ help.

With that in mind, she sat up on the uncomfortable bed and called for the doctor. He came walking in, with an eyebrow raised. "Can I help you, Ms Low?"

She nodded, and scratched her head. "Well, erm, I haven't had the headache pills for a while, and the old ones are wearing off. Can I take some more, please? My head is killing."

He nodded good naturedly and walked out, unaware that what Tanith had asked of him was only to distract him from her for the next few minutes. The medical bay she was stationed at wasn't far from the battle field; any wounded mages were to head back and take a little time to heal, before heading out again. Tanith had been given her own private room, away from the public, so that no one would disturb her. So, the supplies were on the other side of the bay – far away from her. it would give her enough time to make her escape.

She found her belongings at the foot of the bed; her clothes, and her sword in its scabbard. She grabbed them all and hurried in her temporary surgery dress to an empty and deserted room in the bay. There, she took off the surgery clothing and gleefully put on her own. Looking in a nearby mirror, she smirked. Just as sexy as she remembered. Her smirk faded a little, and she thoughtfully took off her jacket and raised her waistcoat so that she could see the fading scars on her chest.

To get the remnant out of her, it had taken a little more than just positioning the Soul Catcher above her mouth. Instead, they had to cut deep into her, right into her very centre, where they discovered that her heart had turned black from the colours of the remnant. They moved some ribs, so that the remnant could get sucked out of her a bit easier. Of course, ieasier/i doesn't make it any less painful. She was put to sleep throughout this, and even then, in her sleep, she could feel the pain slicing in her very consciousness. With the remnant out, and her bones moved back to their original positions, with her skin stitched up and her mind single once more, she had been left to rest whilst the team moved out into the battlefield.

Soon, that team would include Tanith, and a very grumpy Skulduggery.

Through the vibrant sunset, through the smoke of the earlier fires and destruction, walked a lone, muscular figure low to the ground. The English sanctuary had taken a hoard of vampires and set them free on the Irish side, to which many, many of the mages got killed. Ghastly Bespoke, the second-in-command of the main squad had given out the task to the Dead Men to patrol the nearby lands, and to dispose of any remaining alive vampires.

Ghastly, as well as being very alert, had his mind on quite a few other things; the English swordswoman he had fell in love with being one of them. The way she laughed, the way she smiled, the way she walked... he missed her terribly. To be fair with himself, he had ruled out the possibility of her loving him back; whatever happened with the two back before she got possessed was gone now.

But that made it all worse for the scarred tailor, because he was finding himself still very much in love with her. Tanith Low was known to have had quite a few flings with various men; Scarcen Rue and Frightening Jones being just two of them. He was no different. They were friends, and he wanted more. That's just all there was to it.

And now here he was, patrolling the edges of a battle field, feeling sorry for himself. God, the more he thought about her, the more he realized that he didn't want to know. He didn't want to know if she loved him or not, because why dwell on what could've been? Dwell on what there is now. Because so what if she loved him? So what if she didn't? She's been possessed by a remnant now, that probably changed her mind about everything, and there's not a damn thing that-

A force plummeted into Ghastly's chest, sending him flying to the ground. He sprung up, but not quick enough to dodge the vampire that swiped at his lower side, cutting through his waistcoat fabric and into his flesh. He gasped, but tried to ignore the pain. He looked up, and saw the vampire only a mere two meters away from him. It was toying with him now, taking short and sudden steps forward, only to see Ghastly brace himself for an attack that wouldn't happen. It was dampening his respond time, until the point where it finally sprang at Ghastly, who merely threw a heavy punch into its head.

There was a loud _crack_, and the vampire was sent sprawling onto the floor. He used this to his advantage, and took the pistol from the waistband of his trousers, and shot twice into the same place as he punched. But it was as if it didn't feel anything, because it leaped up at him in fury, with its claws on his chest, pushing him down to the floor. Ghastly could only hold the vampire back as it reached for his face and torso, trying to claw at him desperately. Each swipe the vampire tried inched further and further towards his face...

... Until, out of nowhere, it just collapsed on top of the tailor, lifeless. Ghastly pushed the body off of him, and it was only when he could properly look at it, when he realized there was a weapon stuck in its back. No... a _sword._

Ghastly froze. Someone had either tried to help him, or tried to send the sword flying into him. He spun round, trying to look for the intruder. He could see nothing... No one.

Frowning, he looked back at the sword that had saved his life. Taking a step forward, he examined the work on the handle and the blade. Criss-crosses... Foreign markings on the blade...

_No_.

This... This wasn't right... No... _Unless_...

Slowly, so slowly, he turned his head round to face the still vibrant sunset, and the smoke of the fires. Someone was standing on top of the mound. Tousled, blonde hair. A long coat. Tight trousers, showing off a feminine figure. Hanging onto the hemline of them was a weightless, empty scabbard.

Shocked, he looked up, up to her face. The face he found so familiar, the face he had loved so much. The same. Just as he remembered. The same structure of her round jaw, the same beautiful smile...

Looking further upwards, he was greeted by the same breathtaking, silver eyes.

It was her. After all this time it was her.

It was _Tanith Low_.

All the breath left him, and for a moment, Ghastly forgot about the vampire, and the injuries he had inflicted from it. All he wanted to do was look into those bright, silvery orbs.

It was only when she started walking slowly towards him did he realize that he had been staring at her for so long. She was smiling, and walking down the mound towards him, a bright shine in those eyes of hers. When she was at the bottom, she started jogging, that turned into a sprint. Ghastly took a few steps forward, with his arms about to outstretch. She ran into him, and he spread his strong arms around her, holding her close.

She started laughing, and soon Ghastly was laughing along softly with her. They were holding each other so tight, he could hear her escalating heart beat. It was like a beautiful melody to him, a melody that sent shivers down his spine. It was as if time stopped for them, allowing them to make up for the time spent apart. Allowing them to enjoy the contact they had both longed for for so long.

After a long while, Ghastly pulled away and held her there. "You've missed a lot." He said softly, grinning.

She laughed and looked at the rigid scars on his face. How she had missed them... She placed a hand on the back of his head, her finger tips playing with a vertical scar. In one soft, swift movement, she pulled his head closer, and she softly pressed her lips against his.

Images of the past flashed behind her eyes. Times of their first case together, the good times, the bad times. The time when Ghastly left for a good two years, and her times of loneliness in between. The overjoy of when he came back, when they were back again, back on the badass cases. When Ghastly got the façade for the first time, and she realized just how much she had grown to love his face, and his scars. When her love for him started to become apparent, and the day that he had gathered the courage to ask her, and she had the courage to say yes. All in a fast movement, time went by, back to this moment in time, when she can feel the warmth from him against her.

They pulled away softly, and Ghastly smiled. Tanith looked over his shoulder, then back at him with a smirk. "Ghastly?" She said softly, keeping eye contact.

"Yes, Tanith?"

"Can I have my sword back, please?" She laughed. Ghastly grinned and turned around with the purpose of getting her sword, but instead came to see a collection of active vampires, crawling towards them with a vivid thirst in their eyes. He raised an eyebrow, and used his food to pry the sword out of the fallen vampire from before. Taking his eyes off of the oncoming threat, Ghastly handed Tanith's sword back to her and smirked.

"On the count to three?" She asked, switching her sword into her fighting hand.

He nodded. "On the count to three." He confirmed, and turned back to the vampires.

The vampires stopped crawling and started cantering towards them.

"_One._"

Soon, they started snarling and their pace became faster.

"_Two._"

The lethal creatures broke into a fully blown sprint, growling and roaring as they did.

Tanith looked at Ghastly and Ghastly looked at Tanith.

"_**Three**__._"


End file.
